Tuesday, 17 October 2017

Chia

Chia in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, has been on my hit list for quite a while so I was really pleased to be able to make the long awaited visit last week for lunch. If you didn't already know, Chia is a completely vegan cafe which has a focus on healthy and nutritious plant based foods. All the photos and reviews I had seen online had me really excited for what was in store!

When we walked into Chia I was completely bowled over by the amount of choice and it took me a a few minutes to take it all in! In the entrance area they have some small food items for sale, a cabinet full of yummy looking cakes and sweet treats, and a mini salad bar. There's also a cosy bar seating area in the window where you can watch the world go by or head upstairs to the main seating area like we did.

Chia is so quirky and cosy and like no where else I have been before. Up a steep and winding staircase takes you to the main seating area room. It feels like you're in someones quaint and beautiful house opposed to a cafe! The building is clearly very old and we did have to duck our head a couple of times coming in and out of rooms but it all just added to the character of the place.

When handed the menu I was so impressed by the amount of choice and I love that there is a mix of hot and cold items and that the breakfast options are served all day. The 'English Breakfast Hot Pot' sounded incredible, as did the pancakes and smoothie bowl! On this occasion though I was in the mood for something from the lunch menu and I'd remembered seeing photos of their burger before on Instagram so I pretty much knew I was going to go for that even before looking at the rest of the menu.

My husband went for the 'Organic Nacho & Bean Chilli Bowl' which, when presented to him, just looked so amazing and like my idea of heaven! Luckily for me he did let me have a taste and it was as good as it looks. More often than not I am put off ordering Chilli because I've had bad experiences in the past of them being too hot and spicy for me to enjoy but this one was really mild and seriously on point.

My 'Handmade Beetroot & Quinoa Burger' was equally as good. It came with a side of vegetable crisps, coleslaw, salad and a couple of gherkins. The burger itself was served in a bun with tomato, lettuce, cashew cream and mustard. There were so many lovely flavours and the burger patty itself was so delicious. I always prefer actual vegetable based dishes opposed to mock meats so this meal really was right up my street. If I had any criticism it would be that I would have maybe preferred to have some potato wedges or chips with my burger but in any case the veg crisps were a nice touch.

I think our eyes were bigger than our bellies as we couldn't stop thinking about the salad bar we had seen on the way in so we decided to order this huge salad bowl as a side. As expected we didn't manage to eat it all but they kindly popped into a takeaway container for us so we could enjoy it with our dinner later that day. Again, everything was delicious and this did feel like a super healthy raw salad. If you work in this area this would make a great takeaway lunch option.

Overall our first Chia experience was excellent and it was so great to finally be able to try out the menu for myself. I would definitely visit again and recommend to all of you to make a visit if you can. It's also worth mentioning that they're a dog friendly establishment too so next time I may even take along one of my little fur babies!